Since then I have formulated the following justifications why I feel that the two tools should not be used to perform the role of the other. (In particular, I am looking at it as to why the drill press shouldn’t be used as a router).

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1Cold Rolled SteelRod 7ft

5. Finally, although it seems expensive, even a $320 router (such as the 2400W Triton) isn’t actually that expensive compared to the router bits. Each of my bits range in price from 10% the cost of the router up to 50%. Add it altogether, and the router itself is only a small portion of the total cost (spread over time) of the ‘tool’. My collection of router bits is worth something like 5 times the value of the router itself.

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Common sense rules with this one, but having said that, I have used a bull-nose router bit in the drill press to produce some round bottom holes for a number of tic tac toe games. It was much quicker and more accurate than using a router.

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But that is as far as I would go and would not try to attempt more detailed work on my drill press, after all, it is only a home workshop drill press and not a more expensive and robust drill press used by most businesses.

I guess, in an emergency, you could use a drill press to do a little routing job (small bit, light passes, soft wood), but I wouldn’t make a habit of it for those reasons. The reason the wheel cutting bit works well on a drill press, is it is designed to plunge into the workpiece, not run along an edge, so really it is just a glorified drill bit. It is also designed to work at the slow speeds of the drill press – you’d kill yourself trying to use it in a router!

I have a Parken heavy duty variable speed drill press. It has 0-10,000rpm speed range. It has a guaranteed accuracy of 4 microns of run out at the shaft. These machines are hand made in Melbourne & are to die for. In addition to my keyless16mm Albrecht chuck, I can swap out for an er32 collet system that is held in place by both no 3 morse taper in conjunction with an integral screw in feature. my collet range is 1 – 20mm. The parken can be run forwards & backwards. It also uses bearings that will take side thrust. This machine drills,routes,trepans,machines & runs sanding drums.

It is interesting to me, because back when I was contemplating (and then purchasing) a drill press, the same thought crossed my mind. After all, both machines grip a cutter in some form of chuck, and spin it. So what is stopping one doing the role of the other?

1. The chuck doesn’t hold the bit anywhere near as tightly as a router bit collet, so they are a lot more prone to slippage (and if a router bit slips, it is likely to change height, and therefore change the profile that’s being cut (at best….a kickback or a grab of the workpiece is not desirable!), if a drill bit grabs the work, hopefully it does slip!) The slippage will also scar the shaft of the router bit badly, making unusable in a router later – either simply because it won’t fit, or because those scratches make the bit more prone to breakage. My wheel cutter bit (which is designed only for use in the drill press) has a badly scarred shaft – doesn’t matter for that bit as it will only ever be used on the drill press, but I’d hate some of my other router bits getting damaged like that.

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1018 cold finished steel is a general-purpose, low-carbon steel with good case hardening qualities. It is especially suited to cold forming and bending operations. 1018 is suitable for parts that require cold forming (such as crimping, swaging, or bending). For severe bends, however, stress relieving may be necessary to prevent cracking.

3. The bearings on a drill press are designed to be thrust-loaded – ie you drive a drill bit down into the workpiece. A router bearing is designed for axial (horizontal) loading. If a drill press is used as a router too much, the bearings will wear out a lot faster than desired.

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Cold finished steel bars are often mistakenly called cold rolled steel. However, the term “cold rolled” only refers to actual rolled steel sheets or coils, while the same process results in cold finished bars.

2. The average router bit speed is 8000 RPM to 20000 RPM. The average drill press is 200 RPM to 3000 RPM. A drill press simple can’t drive a router bit at the speeds required to obtain a reasonable finish, and without horrendous tearout that can occur when running a router bit way too slow.

Cold finished bars (often abbreviated to CF) are produced from special bar quality hot rolled bars by cold drawing, turning, grinding, polishing, or by a combination of these methods.

Cold drawing increases a bar’s yield strength and tensile strength, turning improves surface quality, grinding produces more precise tolerance ranges, and polishing further creates a smooth and attractive surface. Overall, cold finishing reduces the cross sectional area of the hot rolled bar. CF steel bars may be harder to work with than their hot rolled equivalents, but they make up for it with more accurate sizes, smooth surfaces, increased mechanical properties and machinability.

Because of its high workability, machinability, and combination of most steel traits, 1018 steel is useful for creating a number of high volume machine parts, including:

I’ve done some light routing for some softwood drawer bottoms with my drill press, it works but is not ideal. I’ve got a router plane since then so if I ever do more then I’ll likely use that instead.

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Overall, cold finished steel bars tend to have higher tensile and yield strength, tighter size tolerances and improves smoothness when compared to hot-finished steel.

Thanks! Glad I read this before attempting the “project.” I guess I’ll have to find a way to fix my schedule to work with the Adult Ed. Woodworking.

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While you present a good argument for not using a drill press as a router, the main issue is really safety. Throwing a workpiece across the room is insignificant when you take a chunk out of your finger.

1018 carbon steel is typically bought to meet chemistry requirements rather than physical requirements. For that reason, physical properties are generally not provided unless requested prior to production. Any material can be sent to a third party after production to be tested for physical properties.

However, in my industrial shop, we successfully used a Delta 15″ drill press at factory speeds, and a 20″ Clausing with a large table, modified to run at 12,000 rpm for over 20 years without mishaps to people or fingers. We ran router bits, 4 flute end mills, and various flycutters and rotary safety planers on a daily basis without damage to the bearings. It works, but you have to be careful. Would I do it at home? With confidence. Would I recommend it for a casual, once a year basement “wannabe craftsman”? Only the safety planers offer sufficient protection for the amateur.

4. The chuck of a drill press is typically on a morse taper. Axially loading up the chuck often will loosen it to the point that it suddenly falls off!

Alro stocks cold finished 1018 steel bars in Flats, Rounds, Squares and Hexagon. Cold finished 1018 carbon steel is one of the most commonly available grades in the world. This carbon steel alloy is easily formed, machined, fabricated, and welded. Welding 1018 steel can be done with any standard method, without pre-heating or post-heating.